CHICAGO/SAO PAULO Jan 14 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc
has closed about 60 stores in Brazil, or more than 10
percent of its locations in the country, part of a restructuring
of one of the retailing giant's most important overseas markets,
people familiar with the matter said.

Wal-Mart last month said it would close "underperforming"
stores representing 5 percent of its "business" in Brazil, but
it did not say exactly how many stores were included. Brazilian
newspaper Valor Economico in December reported that 30 stores
would be shut.

The people familiar with Wal-Mart's Brazil operations told
Reuters that Wal-Mart had shuttered roughly 60 stores in the
past few weeks. The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said a significant number of the closures were of smaller-format
stores.

Wal-Mart recently had 558 outlets in the country, according
to its corporate website.

Wal-Mart declined to comment on Thursday about the store
closures but announced that Flavio Cotini, currently the chief
financial officer of the Brazilian operations, would become the
CEO, replacing Guilherme Loureiro, who was named the head of the
Mexican business. Cotini is the fourth CEO of Brazil since 2008.

The shake-up comes three months after Chief Executive
Officer Doug McMillon flagged to investors that he was planning
to review the retailer's global operations and "close the stores
that should be closed."

His comments had sparked speculation that Wal-Mart would
look to restructure or even pull out of markets where it has
struggled. Brazil was among the countries most often cited by
analysts as a potential target.
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